12 Proven Ways to Increase Google Restaurant Reviews | Ultimate Guide

With so many dining options online, customer reviews are the secret ingredient for your restaurant to outshine. 

Why? 

Because so many diners out there are looking for the best spot for their next meal, and Google is the prime place to look for their answer. 46% of diners visit Google to check reviews and ratings of restaurants before choosing their perfect dining spot. Thus, a strong collection of Google restaurant reviews will show authenticity to potential diners and drive their trust. 

Having a good number of Google reviews is a blessing if you want to showcase your restaurant’s credibility. 

Want to strengthen your restaurant’s online presence? 

We have 12 impactful strategies for increasing Google reviews of your restaurant. By incorporating these strategies, you can turn satisfied customers into loyal advocates and gain more Google reviews. 

Explore this guide closely to take your restaurant’s online reputation to the next level. 

What are Google Restaurant Reviews?

Google restaurant reviews are valuable feedback from diners regarding restaurants, cafes, and other food establishments showcasing their dining experience. When someone searches for any particular restaurant on Google, these reviews are automatically generated on the search results.

One can also find these reviews on Google Maps when someone searches for restaurants and cafes in their locality. Based on those Google food reviews, Google also highlights the “Best Dish” that helps potential diners choose good eateries. 

Google reviews for restaurants also have a rating system that allows experienced diners to rate their experience from 1 to 5 stars. A restaurant with a 1-star rating means a poor user experience, and a 5-star rating means an excellent experience.

Google restaurant reviews also have an excellent feature that allows diners to upload photos and videos that boost authenticity. Thus, Google restaurant reviews are a crucial tool for restaurants to gain good ranking on Google Search and Maps, which also improves visibility.

How to Get More Google Restaurant Reviews: 12 Proven Strategies for Success

As competition rises daily, having a good number of positive reviews on Google helps your restaurant build a strong online presence. Google restaurant reviews are more than just words; they show the credibility of your restaurant, help you attract new customers, and improve Google ranking. The more Google reviews you have, the better because it can set you apart from your competitors. 

So, how can you collect more reviews from your customers? The secret lies in convincing and encouraging customers to share their genuine experiences about your restaurant. 

Want to encourage your customers to leave more Google reviews?

Don’t worry! We have come up with a list of solutions for you.

Below are the proven strategies that will help you to get more Google restaurant reviews. Let’s dig in.

1. Wow Your Diners: Deliver an Experience They’ll Rave About

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Royal Caribbean International

If you want your customers to share their feedback instantly on Google, you should make the initial effort. Ensure you provide your customers with the best experience at your restaurant, leaving them in awe. Creating a fantastic experience helps you build an emotional experience with your diners, turning the casual dining experience into enthusiastic reviewers.

Offer your diners delicious food made with fresh ingredients and with a detailed presentation of the dishes. Train your staff to provide exceptional service; they must be attentive and friendly, which makes diners feel valued. Set a unique and welcoming ambiance at your restaurant with good music, lighting, decor, and cleanliness.

Handle the complaints gracefully and resolve them ASAP to leave a stronger impression. Note them to help your restaurant shine with that wow factor and compel customers to share their good experiences. 

2. Turn Your Staff into Review-Generating Rockstars

Your restaurant staff can be an excellent medium for collecting reviews because they interact daily with your customers. The reputation of your restaurant depends on your staff’s excellent service. Start by training your staff to provide attentive service that will make the guests feel valued.

Your staff must interact with the customers in a friendly, approachable, and attentive manner to sound authentic. Your staff must be able to identify happy customers and politely ask them if they would share their valuable time and reviews on Google. Also, ask your staff to ask customers for feedback when they deliver the check. 

3. Make It Effortless: Simplify the Review Process

To encourage your customers to leave more Google reviews on your restaurant page, make the process as simple as possible. Everyone avoids complicated pathways, so your customers will never leave a review if it takes a lot of their valuable time.

Many satisfied customers intend to leave good reviews, and you must make the process effortless for them. Simplifying the review process can help you collect many Google restaurant reviews. QR code is one of the fastest, seamless, and contactless ways to collect customer reviews. Your customers just have to scan the QR code from their smartphone, and they can share their reviews.  Print the QR code on menus or coasters and dine-in & takeaway receipts.

4. Add Google Reviews to Your Website with a “Write a Review” Button

How about simplifying your task of collecting Google reviews with the addition of technology? Be smart and transform your website into a channel to collect reviews of your satisfied customers. Place a “write a review” button right on your website and simplify the process for your visitors to share reviews through a shorter route. This will not only simplify the review collection process but will also make your restaurant’s official website attractive and interactive.

Tools like Tagembed’s Google Review Widget help you with this by creating a widget and adding a “Write a review” banner. This tool will collect the best reviews and help you showcase them on your website, making it more engaging. When your visitors see those shining reviews, it may encourage them to share their feedback, and the review collection banner will simplify the process. 

Top Pick : How To Add Google Reviews Badge For Website

5. Social Media Magic: Use Platforms to Spark Reviews

Social media platforms have become excellent mediums for connecting and building a loyal community around your brand. They have also become a goldmine for collecting reviews because customers find them a great place to share their experiences and let their connections know.

Moreover, restaurants can reach their customers via social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and more to ask for Google reviews. Keep a close eye on your customers’ posts, like tags, mentions, and comments of your restaurant. By identifying them, respond politely and thank them for their valuable feedback; also, ask them to share their view on Google via DM. You can also create a social media campaign to collect Google reviews, including a direct link to your restaurant’s Google business page.

Worth Checking Out: How To Get A Google Review Link

6. Sweeten the Deal: Offer Rewards for Honest Feedback

Customers love to take advantage of sweet deals offered by businesses, and for collecting Google restaurant reviews can be a win-win strategy. Offer your customers rewards in exchange for their honest Google restaurant reviews. Remember that Google guidelines don’t allow businesses to offer incentives in exchange for reviews.

So you must offer rewards in exchange for only authentic reviews, despite its tone. Offer deals like “Spread your valuable word about us and enjoy your free dessert with the bill,” etc., through newsletters, social media ad campaigns, or restaurant leaflets.

7. Ask at the Right Time: Leverage Happy Customers

Timing plays a crucial role in getting you authentic Google restaurant reviews. You have to identify the right time to ask your customers for their valuable reviews, and this is not rocket science. The best time to ask for a review is when your customers are done paying their bills. At that time, you can slide a QR code that links to the restaurant’s Google page.

It’s very crucial to ask diners for reviews when the experience is fresh in their mind. The prime catch is not to delay asking your customers for their reviews. Immediate follow-up can collect authentic Google restaurant reviews.

8. Show You Care: Respond to Every Review

One effective strategy for encouraging more Google reviews on restaurants is to make your customers feel you value their words. Show your care for customers who share their valuable feedback by responding to their reviews despite their tone (negative/positive). When people see that you value their reviews, they will be encouraged to share their opinions.

Give a personalized reply to each customer review; looking into their details will be more valuable. Show your customers gratitude while replying to them, and it will encourage others to share their valuable reviews. Respond to negative reviews also and be calm & professional, as it can turn the table and help you win back your customers.

Promptly respond to customer reviews within 24-48 hours.  A quick response shows that you are active and prioritize your customers’ feelings, which leaves a lasting impression.

Learn More About – How To Delete Reviews From Google

9. Bring Reviews Offline: Promote Feedback at Every Touchpoint

In offline mode, you can request Google reviews at every step of the customer’s journey. Connect personally with your customers offline and remind them to leave valuable feedback that will help your restaurant grow. We will give an overview of how to use offline mediums to collect Google restaurant reviews.

You can keep a register at your restaurant, and when your customers are done with their bills, you can hand over the register.

Afterward, ask them politely to share their view with their name and contact details and share the same on Google. You can set a review of the day/ week board to showcase the best Google reviews for restaurants. This can encourage other customers to share their reviews on Google to get featured on that board.

10. Follow Up Like a Pro: Personalized Emails That Convert

Make your approach to asking for Google reviews more dedicated by sending personalized follow-up emails to them. This tailored process lets you reach each of your customers, create a genuine connection with them, and collect more customer reviews. When you email your customers, they may miss reading them, so following up is crucial. When you send follow-up emails and remind your customers to share their reviews, it shows how much you value their opinions.

This extra effort will impress your customers and encourage them to share their valuable feedback with you. In your follow-up email, gently nudge your customers to take a moment to share their feedback and maintain a professional tone. 

11. Harness Technology to Simplify Review Management

Managing and increasing Google reviews is challenging and requires too much manual effort. Technology like review management tools can minimize your manual efforts and enhance your online reputation by seamlessly collecting Google reviews. A dedicated CRM system will automatically send request emails to your customers and ask them to share their experience. Reviews aggregator tools like Tagembed will help you collect and manage reviews from multiple sources like Google. 

12. Turn Reviews Into Marketing Gold
(Showcase glowing feedback on the website, social media, and newsletters)

Your restaurant’s customer reviews are a goldmine of authenticity and a trust-building factor that strengthens your marketing efforts. The glowing customer reviews highlight your business’s credibility and encourage other customers to share their reviews. There are various ways to turn reviews into marketing golds. 

A. Run social media campaigns. 

Social media has become a hub of reviews for businesses, and it can also be an excellent medium to collect reviews. Businesses can run social media campaigns on stories, sharing posts, reels, etc., of your satisfied diners and asking for others’ feedback.

You can also create posts out of customer reviews with high-quality graphics and videos showcasing your dish or ambiance. Share the link to your Google My Business with such a post to make it seamless for other customers to share their feedback.

B. Send a newsletter to your customers.

A newsletter can be a dedicated medium for collecting Google reviews for your business, as it reaches the most loyal audience base. Send your audience a creative newsletter showcasing the “Review of the Month” and, to tease excitement, add exciting updates. This can be an impressive way to encourage customers to share their reviews.

You can add a QR code to your newsletter using the Reviews Hub feature of a tool like Tagembed. You must add a call to action for that extra encouragement and link the QR code to your Google page. Adding a layer of authenticity to your promotional newsletter showcasing reviews can make review collection a seamless process. 

C. Embed Google reviews on the website.

Highlight Google reviews on your website to immediately impress your visitors and encourage them to share their reviews. Using Tagembed, restaurants can easily collect their Google reviews in a widget, add a banner with a dedicated CTA, and embed them on their website.

When visitors see those glowing Google review widgets on your website, it can impress them to share their feedback, and the banner can simplify the collection process.

Conclusion

Increasing the number of Google restaurant reviews goes beyond counting numbers. The reviews help showcase memorable experiences, build trust, and establish lasting customer relationships. 

Google reviews are an excellent way to make satisfied customers loyal advocates of your restaurant.

You already know about 12 excellent strategies for increasing your Google reviews. 

Start implementing these strategies to get more Google reviews and elevate your restaurant’s reputation.